Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chris Capossela, is set to leave the company after serving for 32 years, as Microsoft enters a “new era” focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Takeshi Numoto, another high-ranking Microsoft executive, will take over as CMO.
Capossela assumed the role of Microsoft’s CMO in April 2011 and later became the Executive Vice President and CMO in March 2014. In a blog post, Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, explained that Capossela’s succession had been planned for some time, and with the advent of the AI era, the company has decided to put that plan into action.
Throughout his career at Microsoft, Capossela held various positions, including speech assistant to Bill Gates, program manager of Microsoft Access, product manager of desktop database products, and marketing manager of the Windows seminar team.
Takeshi Numoto, who has supported Microsoft’s commercial and cloud businesses for years, will step into the role of Executive Vice President and CMO, reporting to Nadella. Microsoft’s cloud business contributed revenue of $23.4 billion in Q3 2023, marking a 32% year-over-year increase.
The new CMO shared the news on LinkedIn, expressing his gratitude to Microsoft for the opportunities he had during his tenure. He noted that he’s excited about the impact that Takeshi, Yusuf Mehdi, and the marketing team will have in empowering individuals and organizations worldwide.
Yusuf Mehdi will take on the role of champion of end-user experiences and continue leading initiatives related to AI-powered services, Microsoft Copilot product marketing, Search, Ad, & News, and Devices & Creativity Customer Solution Areas (CSAs).
Capossela’s departure follows the recent exit of Panos Panay, Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer, who joined Amazon to lead the Devices & Services business.
